Who Are You?
by Pen
Summary: The team is asked to help Adam. Or ARE they helping him?


WHO ARE YOU?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Mutant X. They are property of Tribune Entertainment Company. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
Rating: This story is rated PG - there is some violence and swearing  
  
Brennan made his way to one of the practice rooms where he was to meet Shalimar. He entered the room and found it empty. Shrugging, he began stretching and warming up.  
  
Shalimar soon entered the room, dropping her gear bag on the floor. "Sorry I'm late."  
  
"No problem," he said as he stretched out his arms in front of him. "You need to warm up?"  
  
Shalimar tossed a towel on the back of a chair and approached Brennan. "Nope. I just got in a nice ten mile jog so I'm good to go." She smiled and gave him a playful look, trying to get him to begin their workout.  
  
Brennan got her hint and threw some kicks and punches in her direction. She blocked them easily and returned a few of her own.  
  
They sparred for a while and then saw Jesse enter the room. "You guys seen Adam?"  
  
Brennan kicked out towards Shalimar's head but Shalimar grabbed it and tossed him to the floor. "No, haven't seen him," she said as she smiled at Jesse and then at Brennan who was lying on the floor.  
  
"He mentioned something about a meeting yesterday. Said it could last all day." Brennan jumped to his feet and grabbed Shalimar in a chokehold. She gasped for a second as he applied a good amount of pressure, payback for tossing him on his ass. But she soon gained the upper hand and managed to twist his arm away, sending him to the ground again.  
  
"Well, I'll let you two continue your fun. I'll see yas later." Jesse left the room, chuckling to himself.  
  
Brennan and Shalimar continued their workout but were interrupted when Shalimar's cellphone rang. She went over to her bag to dig it out. "Hello?"  
  
"Shalimar, it's Adam."  
  
"Adam? How come you didn't call me on the Comlink?"  
  
"Listen to me, I don't have much time to talk. I need you to come out and meet me at Novotek Labs."  
  
Shalimar's brow creased with confusion. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I just need your help out here. You should be able to get in without a problem."  
  
"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. Brennan and I..."  
  
Adam quickly cut her off. "No. Just you."  
  
"Just me?"  
  
"Yes. I can't explain right now but will explain everything when you get here."  
  
"I'm leaving now. Wha..." She got cut off again but this time it was by a dial tone.  
  
Brennan walked over to Shalimar, looking at the confused look on her face. "Everything okay?"  
  
She tucked the phone back in her bag and then slung it over her shoulder. "I have to go. That was Adam. He said he needs my help over at Novotek."  
  
"Cool. I'll change real quick and then we can go."  
  
Brennan started to leave but she reached out and touched his arm. "No, not `we.' He said he only wants me to meet him."  
  
"Oh. Okay." Brennan felt a little disappointed.  
  
"I'll be back later," she said as she hurried off to change.  
  
Shalimar pulled up to the entrance of the building, taking a look around at her surroundings. She sat on her bike for a moment as she looked towards the entrance, wondering what was going on inside and why Adam desperately needed her help. She took her helmet off and hung it on the back of her bike then made her way towards the building.  
  
She went inside and was surprised that there were no guards at the door. Walking in a little further she saw a glass elevator that reached the second and third floors. To her left and right was a giant lobby area that was completely deserted. What she didn't notice was the four deceased guards lying on top of one another behind the reception desk.  
  
She cautiously walked to the elevator but stopped when she heard Adam's voice booming down from the second floor. "Shalimar!"  
  
She looked up and saw him standing at the railing. "Be right up." The elevator doors opened and she rode it up to the second floor.  
  
Adam smiled at her as she stepped out of the elevator. "Thanks for getting here so quickly."  
  
"What's this all about?" she asked as they walked down the hallway.  
  
"I think I've stumbled onto something substantial and I want you to tell me what you think." Adam held her by the arm as he led her into one of the lab rooms.  
  
Shalimar stopped in the doorway and looked around the room. The room was completely white and had numerous computer systems along the wall and a few consoles in the middle of the room that had a black recliner chair between them.  
  
Adam stood behind her and moved close to her ear. "Have a seat."  
  
The tone of his voice didn't seem right to her. "I'll stand, thanks."  
  
"No, no, I insist," he said through gritted teeth.  
  
She turned around to face him and felt something poking her stomach. Looking down she saw a gun. "Adam? What are you doing?" she gasped as she looked up at him.  
  
"When I ask you to sit, you sit." He shoved the gun further into her stomach, forcing her to begin backing up.  
  
"What's wrong with you?"  
  
Adam let out a laugh. "What's wrong with ME? Nothing! It's YOU who has the problem."  
  
Shalimar suddenly reached down and grabbed his arm, pushing the gun away from her stomach. Before she was able to knock it from his grip he was able to pull the trigger, sending a bullet flying through the air but it whizzed past her.  
  
They fought for a few minutes, exchanging blows, some making contact. In the midst of the fight, Adam pulled out a syringe and jammed it into Shalimar's shoulder. She grunted in pain but continued to fight with him after pulling out the needle.  
  
She got in a swift kick to his face that send him flying to the floor on his back. Her vision started to get blurry and she tried to shake it off but it wasn't helping.  
  
Adam sat up, touching his bloody mouth and spitting blood onto the floor. He looked to his left and saw his gun so he quickly grabbed it and fired.  
  
Shalimar fell to the ground, crying out in pain, clutching the wound in her leg that was made by the bullet. "Why, Adam?"  
  
Adam got up and stood next to her. "If you had only listened to me when I asked you to sit down then we wouldn't have had a problem and you wouldn't be lying on the floor bleeding all over the place." He crouched down, waving the gun around. "That's the problem with you kids. You don't do as you're told and I'm sick of it."  
  
Shalimar struggled to stay awake but the wound and the injection were making it increasingly difficult. Her eyes flashed yellow as she looked at him. "Who are you?"  
  
"Oh, you're gonna do the `cat thing' I see. I'm so scared," he teased.  
  
She bit her lip as the pain coursed through her body. "What did you inject me with?"  
  
"Just a little drug to slow you down. Why? You worried about going to sleep?" Shalimar didn't answer but he was right. She didn't want to pass out because then she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him. "Or do you want to go to sleep? Because I can help you with that." Adam grabbed her by the front of her shirt, yanking her up a bit and then punched her, knocking her unconscious. He let go of her without being gentle about it and then stood up. "Now. Let's take care of business.  
  
Adam took out his cellphone and called Brennan. After a few rings Brennan's voice came through the phone. "Brennan, it's me. Listen, we're going to need some back up. Can you come out to Novotek and give us a hand?"  
  
"Sure, Adam. I can round everyone up and be out there a.s.a.p."  
  
"No, no. No need for all of you to come, just you. We've got it pretty much under control out here but need an extra helping hand."  
  
"Okay. I'll be out there as soon as I can." Brennan heard Adam hang up the phone so he hung up his as well.  
  
"You okay?" Jesse asked him.  
  
"Tell me if you think this is weird. Adam called Shalimar on her cellphone earlier and asked her to come out to Novotek to meet him, said he needed help and wanted her to come alone. Now he's calling me and asking me to do the same thing. That sound a little weird to you?"  
  
"Maybe Adam's working on something top secret and doesn't want all of us to know about it?" Jesse couldn't think of another explanation for Adam's behavior.  
  
"Well, I'm going out there right now. I'll keep in touch because I just have a funny feeling about this." Brennan turned to walk away but then turned back around. "Do me a favor and run a check on Novotek and buzz me in the SUV when you find out more about this place."  
  
"You got it." Jesse sat behind the computer and began his research.  
  
The world slowly came into focus as her eyes adjusted to consciousness. It took a moment for her to remember where she was. The pain in her leg quickly reminded her. She looked down and saw that her wound hadn't been tended to but didn't appear to be bleeding as much. Attempting to touch the area around the wound, she soon realized that her arms were bound to the chair.  
  
"Well, Sleeping Beauty has awaken," Adam said as he approached her. Shalimar struggled with her bonds. "Don't struggle. There's no point."  
  
"I can see that you tended to my leg beautifully," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Humph. I'm not your nursemaid." He walked over to the console and returned with a first aid kit, tossing it on her lap. "Do it yourself."  
  
"You're funny. How can I do that when my hands are tied to this damn chair? At least undo one of my arms."  
  
Adam thought about it and then took out his gun. "Fine. However, try anything and I'll put another one in you without hesitation." He pressed a button on the console and her right arm was released from its constraint.  
  
She opened the kit and used the small scissors to cut the fabric of her pants so she could get a better look at the wound. Using her teeth, she tore open some packets of gauze pads and wiped up the blood. She poured some antibiotic solution on it and grunted in pain as it burned.  
  
"You must have been a Girl Scout," Adam said as he looked on, still aiming his gun at her.  
  
She looked up at him for only a moment and gave him a sneer. She did the best she could to tape a wad of gauze to the wound, as it was hard to do so using only one hand.  
  
He pressed another button on the console and her left arm became free. She looked at him as he walked towards her. "Get up. We're moving to another room." Shalimar got to her feet and limped painfully along as Adam dragged her to another room.  
  
After a short walk they reached a room that was also completely white but this one had nothing in it but four black recliner chairs set in the middle of it. He roughly pushed her into one of the chairs and placed the gun under her chin. "Move and die." He clasped the restraints over her wrists and ankles. "Comfy?"  
  
"I don't know who you are but you're not going to get away with this. Where's the real Adam?"  
  
"The REAL Adam? I AM the REAL Adam, the one and only. The one that you've always wanted." His hand traced the side of her face and then moved down to her left breast.  
  
She spat in his face and looked right at him as he wiped his cheek. He laughed and then squeezed her thigh where her wound was, causing her to scream out in pain. "That hurt?" He squeezed harder. "How about that?" He let go and backed away from her, giving her a disgusted look.  
  
Shalimar breathed heavily as her leg throbbed with pain. "Get away from me. You make me sick."  
  
He looked at his hand and saw her blood all over it. Reaching down, he wiped it on the arm of her shirt. After he was satisfied with the clean up, he grabbed her by the neck. "Behave yourself. No more outbursts like that again or you won't live to see tomorrow." He gave her head a shove before turning to leave the room.  
  
Brennan entered the Novotek building with ease, which only made his feelings about the situation even uneasier.  
  
Adam came out to greet him and took him to the second floor. "Thanks for coming out so quickly."  
  
"Where's Shalimar?" Brennan asked.  
  
"She's in this room here." Adam gestured for Brennan to open the door and he did.  
  
Brennan's eyes went wide at the sight of Shalimar restrained in her chair.  
  
"Brennan!" Shalimar yelled.  
  
Before Brennan could react, Adam hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him out cold. He dragged him into the room and sat him in the chair next to Shalimar and restrained him as well. "Your boyfriend's here." Shalimar looked at Adam with fury. "Please. Don't even tell me he's not your boyfriend. You two don't screw each other for the hell of it. Especially that night in the rec room on the pool table."  
  
"You watched us!"  
  
"Hey, it's cheaper than renting a movie and was much more entertaining." He smiled evilly at her and left the room.  
  
Shalimar was so disgusted she couldn't even comment. She tried to push it out of her mind to save her strength for more important matters.  
  
After about fifteen minutes, Brennan came to. He squinted as the bright light stung his eyes. He rolled his head to the side and saw Shalimar sitting next to him, asleep. "Shalimar." He struggled with his bonds but couldn't get free.  
  
Shalimar slowly opened her eyes and turned to look at him. "Brennan. How did you get here?"  
  
"Adam called me, like he had called you. He told me to meet him here. What the hell is going on?" His gaze then fell on the bullet wound in her leg. "Oh my God! You've been shot."  
  
"It's okay. No biggie," she shrugged, hoping he'd buy her casual attitude. But in reality her leg was killing her.  
  
Jesse's voice suddenly came through Brennan's Comlink ring. "Brennan. You there?"  
  
"I'm here. I'm with Shalimar and we've got BIG problems."  
  
"Tell me about it. Novotek is own by none other than our friend Mason Eckhart. Apparently Adam is unaware of this because I doubt he'd be there if he'd known about it." Jesse focused on the computer generated Novotek building on his computer screen back at the sanctuary.  
  
"Listen, Adam is under some sort of mind control or something and has us locked up in here. Shalimar's been shot and I need to get her out of here. Can you hack into the security system here to override these restraints they've got us in?" Brennan noticed beads of sweat rolling down the side of Shalimar's face.  
  
"I'll try. Give me a few minutes to work on it."  
  
"Just hurry. I think Shalimar's got a fever. Her wound might be infected."  
  
Jesse's fingers flew over the keyboard as he raced to gain access to Novotek's security system. After a few minutes he heard several beeps, signaling his success. "Got it!"  
  
The bonds around their wrists and ankles opened and Brennan slid out of his chair. "You're the man, Jesse." Brennan put his hand on Shalimar's forehead. "Dammit. She's burning up."  
  
Shalimar struggled to keep her eyes open. "I'm fine," she slurred.  
  
"No, you're not fine. Stop being so damn stubborn. I hate it when you do that." Brennan looked around the room and tried to figure out a plan. "Jesse. Can you get Emma and come out here? We're gonna need some reinforcements."  
  
"We're on our way!"  
  
Brennan turned his attention back to Shalimar. He cupped her face with his hand. "You're gonna be okay. Jesse and Emma are coming to help us out."  
  
Jesse got Emma and they headed to Novotek. Along the way, Jesse's cellphone rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi Jesse, it's Adam. Can you come out to Novotek? I didn't think I'd need all of the team members but I guess I was wrong."  
  
"Where are Brennan and Shalimar?" he asked.  
  
"They're working on a project. I've got something else that needs to be done and that's why I need your help."  
  
"Sure. Umm, I'm on my way." Jesse hung up the phone and turned to Emma. "That was Adam. Guess I'm next on his hit list."  
  
"What's our plan?" she asked.  
  
"I'll go in and meet with Adam and you sneak in behind me. He'll be calling you next so let's put an end to this game of his."  
  
Jesse and Emma arrived at Novotek sooner than they had expected. Jesse walked into the building and was greeted by Adam. Meanwhile, Emma peered into the building and waited for the right moment to sneak in.  
  
"Come on up to the lab," Adam said as he guided him to the elevator and took him up to the second floor.  
  
Emma wasn't far behind and kept a close eye on where they were going.  
  
"Brennan and Shalimar are working in here." Adam opened the door and shoved Jesse inside but Brennan was right there to catch him.  
  
The two men grabbed Adam just as he was about to reach for the gun inside his jacket. They fought with him, trading punches and kicks, but they got the upper hand and forced him to sit in one of the chairs. They quickly snapped the restraints down on his wrists and ankles. He struggled and grunted at them, spitting with anger.  
  
Emma entered the room after seeing that the situation was under control. She ran to Shalimar's side and grimaced when looking at the wound in her leg.  
  
Brennan turned to look at Shalimar who was relieved to see her teammates. "Emma, take Shalimar back to sanctuary. We'll finish up here."  
  
Emma nodded and helped Shalimar to her feet. She put Shalimar's arm around her neck and let her lean her weight on her as they walked out.  
  
Jesse looked at Brennan. "So. What do we do with him?"  
  
"You two have just ruined everything. You realize that?" Adam spat.  
  
"Gee, I hate to be such a party pooper but you've tried to kill Shalimar and probably would've tried to kill the rest of us." Brennan shook his head, still not believing that Adam was acting this way.  
  
"My mission is to deliver all of you to your rightful home." Adam glared at them.  
  
Jesse was about to answer him but Adam's body faded in and out for a split second and then did it again. Jesse looked at Brennan. "He's a computer image."  
  
Brennan reached his hand out to touch Adam on the shoulder and felt nothing. "The signal is weakening so he's no longer in mass form."  
  
After a few seconds Adam disappeared, leaving them staring at an empty chair.  
  
"Shit. He's gone! Now what do we do?" Jesse reached out towards the chair where Adam's body was and felt nothing.  
  
"I don't think we should leave just yet. Let's wait and see if he comes back."  
  
Emma got Shalimar back to sanctuary and immediately brought her to the medical room. She helped her lie down on a table and began to panic. "I'm not sure what to do."  
  
Shalimar put her hand on Emma's arm. "It's okay. I've seen Adam do this before." Shalimar weakly pointed to a computer behind Emma. "You've done a sequence scan before. It's the same thing, just a different computer."  
  
Emma turned around and began typing on the computer's keyboard. She hit `enter' and nothing happened. She hit it again and still nothing happened. "Shalimar. It's not working."  
  
Shalimar's eyes rolled as she tried to stay focused. "The `enter' key is temperamental. Press it down for two seconds and it should work."  
  
Emma tried it and the computer started beeping. A green laser shot out from the ceiling and began scanning over Shalimar's body from head to toe.  
  
After it was complete, Emma returned to Shalimar's side. "Now what?"  
  
"Check the monitor. It will give you my vitals and temperature. That will help you determine the dose of meds to give me."  
  
"What? I...I can't give you medication," Emma stuttered. "What if I give you too much?"  
  
"You won't. I trust you."  
  
"I'm glad to hear that you trust me and all but trust isn't the issue here. Medical knowledge is the issue and I don't have it." Emma wanted to cry but did her best to maintain her composure.  
  
"Read me what it says on the screen."  
  
Emma turned to the monitor and read off the results. "I wish you were here right now, Adam," she whispered out loud.  
  
Shalimar guided her through determining the dosage of medication and Emma felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  
  
"Don't go celebrating just yet. Now you have to get the bullet out." Shalimar's eyelids were getting heavier by the minute now that she'd been injected with pain medication.  
  
"What!" Emma exclaimed.  
  
"It's not gonna come out by itself. Either do it by hand or using the computer. Honestly, I don't care at this point how you do it. Do what you have to do." Shalimar's eyes slowly closed as she passed out.  
  
"Shalimar? Shalimar?" Emma called to her. "Dammit! How am I going to do this?" Emma tried to concentrate but she found it increasingly hard to do so.  
  
She looked at the computers and knew that option was out of the question. "I don't know what half of these things do," she said to herself. "Okay. Okay, you can do this. You've watched ER dozens of times."  
  
Moving around the room she soon came upon a drawer full of sterile surgical tools sealed in individual packets. She grabbed what she needed for supplies and returned to Shalimar's side.  
  
Using some scissors, she cut Shalimar's pants around the wound, giving herself a clear view of it. She sprayed some saline solution on the wound and patted it with some gauze. In doing so, it began to bleed again. "Shit!"  
  
Emma was just about to call Brennan on her Comlink but looked up and saw Adam quickly walking into the room.  
  
"Emma? What's going on here? What happened to Shalimar?" Adam felt Shalimar's burning forehead with a look of concern on his face.  
  
Emma panicked and grabbed a knife, holding it out in front of her towards Adam. "Get away from her. You've done enough damage already."  
  
Adam put up his hands. "Take it easy Emma."  
  
"I said get away from her!" she screamed.  
  
Adam backed away from Shalimar, still keeping his hands up. "It's okay Emma. I'm not going to hurt her. You know that."  
  
"You shot her!"  
  
Adam's face was one of confusion. "What?"  
  
"At Novotek, you shot her."  
  
"Novotek? What were you doing at Novotek? Do you realize what kind of a place that is?"  
  
Emma tried to read Adam's face without using her abilities. She wasn't sure of what she was seeing so she peeked inside his mind and realized he wasn't lying. She immediately put the knife down. "Adam, I'm so sorry." Tears began to fall from her eyes.  
  
Adam took her into his arms to console her. "It's okay. We'll worry about it later. Right now I need to help Shalimar. Why don't you wait outside and take a breather."  
  
Emma smiled and nodded as she left the room, leaving Adam to tend to Shalimar.  
  
Emma was in the rec room shooting some pool when Jesse and Brennan entered.  
  
"Hey Emma. How's Shalimar?" Brennan asked.  
  
"Adam is in there with her getting the bullet out."  
  
"What? Why did you leave him alone with her? Are you crazy?" Brennan started to dash out of the room but Emma stopped him.  
  
"Wait! It's the real Adam."  
  
Brennan stopped and turned back. "How can you be sure?"  
  
"I tapped into his mind," she explained. "What happened to the fake Adam?"  
  
"He disappeared, right before our eyes," Jesse said as he picked up a cue stick.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"He was a computer generated image," Brennan said, taking a seat on a stool.  
  
"Must have been one of Eckhart's latest creations. Kinda scary." Emma took a shot and then watched as the balls moved around the table.  
  
Adam came into the room, looking worn out.  
  
"Is she okay?" Emma asked.  
  
"She lost a good amount of blood and her fever is coming down. I got the bullet out which wasn't easy. It had split into two pieces and fractured her femur, just above her knee."  
  
"Can we see her?" Brennan asked.  
  
Adam thought about it for a moment. "A quick visit."  
  
They all went to the medical area and visited her one at a time. After they had all had their turn, Adam went in.  
  
He slowly walked towards her, watching her sleep. Taking her wrist, he checked her pulse. Her hand moved and clutched his. "Brennan," she said softly as she began to open her eyes. But when she opened them all the way and saw Adam she began to panic and tried to move away from him. "No! Get away from me."  
  
Adam grabbed her shoulders and tried to keep her from moving. "Shalimar, it's me, the real Adam. I'm not going to hurt you. Please, stay still or you'll hurt yourself."  
  
Shalimar's eyes shifted back and forth as she tried to figure out what was going on.  
  
Brennan saw the struggle and was immediately at her side. He took her hand and stroked her hair. "It's okay, calm down. He's telling you the truth. It's Adam."  
  
She looked at Brennan and then Adam and back to Brennan again. "How can you be sure? I thought it was him too when I walked into that building and he certainly fooled me."  
  
"Emma tapped into him," he replied. "The Adam at Novotek was the fake, a computer generated image."  
  
Shalimar laid back down and then looked at Adam. "I'm sorry."  
  
Adam smiled at her. "It's okay." He patted her hand and then checked her vitals again. "So why were all of you out there?"  
  
Brennan took his attention off Shalimar and looked at Adam. "Shalimar got a call saying that you needed her to come out to Novotek to help with something. He insisted that she come alone."  
  
"When I got to Novotek he sedated me with some sort of injection. I tried to get away but he shot me. I blacked out a few times and then he dragged me to another room. I wasn't there long when he brought Brennan in."  
  
Adam rubbed his chin in thought. "Eckhart must have re-created me in computer form in order to lure all of you there. You're lucky you all escaped or God only knows what could have happened."  
  
Shalimar squeezed Brennan's hand and smiled at him.  
  
"Brennan, why don't you help me get Shalimar set up in her room. Looks like you're out of commission for a little while young lady." Adam patted her shoulder and then did the same to Brennan.  
  
"Oh well. At least I'll have a good looking nurse to take care of me." She smiled seductively at Brennan, making him blush.  
  
THE END 


End file.
